The Georgia Bulldogs received a late Christmas present thanks to a frustrated coach at Hargrave Military Academy. Defensive tackle John Atkins of Thomson, Ga., will head to Athens tomorrow to enroll for the spring semester.

“I took my ACT test and got an 18,” Atkins said. “The Clearinghouse said that I had a D on my Clearinghouse transcript where I was supposed to have a C. The NCAA changed it and I got qualified. The grading scale changed while I was in high school and they mistakenly put a D down instead of a C. The Clearinghouse thought that the 74 I made in high school was a D when a D is 70-73.”

Scott McConnell, the defensive backs coach and admissions counselor at Hargrave might be getting a thank you note form the Georgia coaches, especially defensive coordinator Todd Grantham who could use the 6-foot-3, 305-pound defender next season.

“My coach and I were looking over the grades today and he said, ‘Something doesn’t seem right.’ ” Atkins said. “He looked at the transcripts that he had, that Georgia had and he compared that to the Clearinghouse and it didn’t add up. So he called Georgia. I guess UGA called the Clearinghouse.”

Atkins signed with Georgia last February but failed to qualify and wound up spending the fall semester at Hargrave. Now with his core GPA corrected it appears that the four-star defensive tackle will be able to start his Georgia career.

Atkins, the four-star defensive end from Thomson, Ga., is currently enrolled in Hargrave Military Academy while he awaits the results of his latest ACT. He needs a cumulative sectional score of 74 that --combined with his high school GPA -- will allow him to enroll at Georgia for the spring semester. Atkins and teammate Leonard Floyd of Eastman, Ga., were part of Georgia’s 2012 class but failed to qualify. Both want to enroll at Georgia in January.

“All I need is two points,” Atkins said. “I took it a week ago. I will find out on the 26th of December. I feel like I got it. The second time I took the test I went up two points to a 72. I needed a 74 to match my GPA. This time I felt like I did way better. That would be a good Christmas gift.”

On Monday two University of Georgia commitments began the next stage in their journey to Athens. While four-star prospects John Atkins (Thomson, Ga./Thomson) and Leonard Floyd (Eastman, Ga./Dodge County) graduated high school this year, neither was able to meet the qualification requirements. They will enroll today at Hargrave Military Academy in an attempt to avoid going to junior college.

Atkins, an ESPN 150 prospect and Under Armour All-America Game selection last season, is a 6-foot-3, 325-pound defensive lineman who was considered one of the most athletic big men in the 2013 class. Because of the talent returning this fall, Atkins was likely to redshirt this season anyway, but now he will have a chance to arrive in January and prepare for next fall.

“I plan to keep my head on straight, get my grades up, and get to Athens in January,” Atkins said.

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Peach State: Top Tier Recruiting Ground?

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